Kielt dominates title game from both sides of the ball

TRUMBULL - From the first play from scrimmage, Pomperaug High's Mike Kielt was the offensive star in Thursday night's 32-0 win over Brookfield in the South-West Conference championship football game.

It's a scary thing that Kielt made an even bigger impact on the other side of the ball.

That's a big statement, especially since the senior rushed for 194 yards and three touchdowns.

On Thursday night, however, Kielt was a man among boys playing from his linebacker position.

He made a game-high 14 tackles, he recorded three sacks, he forced a fumble and he caused chaos on seemingly every play. He was named the MVP of the game for his performance.

"If there were any college coaches here tonight looking for a player who's motor doesn't stop, he's the guy," Brookfield coach

Rich Angarano
said. "He's the best player in our league and he showed it tonight."

Kielt didn't just make plays. He blew up Brookfield's entire offense. He made tackles on the Bobcats' first three plays from scrimmage.

He ran down Brookfield quarterback
Lenny Meldon
twice from behind to record sacks. He made jarring hits, he deflected passes, and returned punts in his spare time.

"It was just the biggest game of the year for all of us," Kielt said. "I just wanted to play my best. I wanted to make every tackle."

Many coaches and players around the league think that Kielt is the best player in the conference.

Kielt proved that on Thursday.

"I have to say that he is the best player in the league," said Newtown star
Dan Cascone

, who was honored at halftime along with the rest of the All-SWC team. "All you have to do is look at the field. He's glued to the ball."

Kielt, at 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, isn't the biggest player around. But he has 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash. He's almost unblockable because he never stops moving.

But his best attribute is his vision. He sees where a hole is developing. He anticipates, and he makes decisions in a split second.

Once he gets to the ball, it's lights out for the runner.

"He's just so shifty," said Cascone, who committed to the
University of Wisconsin
. "He's quick, he eludes everyone everywhere he goes. I tried to block him, but he doesn't let you do it."

Kielt led a Panther defense that forced six turnovers.

The secondary, once thought to be Pomperaug's Achilles heel, plucked five interceptions, two of them by Joe Melillo.

The Panthers refused to let Brookfield do anything. They made life miserable for the Bobcats running backs.

Meldon was flushed out of the pocket almost every time he dropped back to pass the ball.

"Brookfield's a great team," said Pomperaug's
Andrew McDougall
. "We wanted to prove that we were the better team. We owe a lot of that to Mike. He's just a great player. He's very intense and he never gives up. He's brought the team to where it is right now."

The Panther defense played with a chip on it's shoulder all night.

Because Brookfield's defense had been so talked about this season after surrendering just three points in its first nine games, Pomperaug felt they had something to prove.

"We wanted to prove that we were a great defensive team as well," Kielt said. "The coaches told us that we just had to come out and play great on defense. We did that."